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Justice Dept. hit with suit alleging racism

A former employee of the U. S. Attorney's Office in
Las Vegas is suing the Department of Justice, claiming he was discriminated
against while working there because he was Hispanic.

Robert Torres, who is Mexican-American, claims that
during his tenure in the U. S. Attorney's Office in Las Vegas, Assistant U. S.
Attorney Howard Zlotnick made repeated racist remarks against Torres and other
Hispanics, according to the suit.

According to his complaint, when Torres, a supervisor,
objected and refused to penalize employees who had filed similar complaints,
Zlotnick and former U. S. Attorney Kathryn Landreth accused him of lying on his
employment application and placed him on administrative leave with pay. At that
point Torres initiated a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity
section of the Department of Justice.

Torres, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, acquired a
longstanding reputation for trustworthiness and honesty during his 24 years in
the military, his attorneys said in the suit.

Los Angeles attorney David Spivak, lead counsel for
Torres, declined to comment on the specifics of the case, saying that he
would prefer to let the complaint speak for itself.